Being a World War Two Museum, we have not made a big deal of something that really is in fact a huge deal! Our restoration team have also been restoring a Hawker Siddley Kestrel which is the forerunner to the infamous VTOL Harrier jump jet.
This project whilst not quite fitting the museum as it is today, forms part of our future expansion plans. This rare and iconic aircraft is one of nine ever built. This particular airframe came up for sale on Facebook some years ago while the Hunt Brothers and their Father were in Belgium unveiling a memorial. While sitting in a restaurant enjoying a Duvel beer, Dan being the ever sociable individual that he is was looking on his phone when he saw the aircraft had just been listed for sale. Within 30 minutes the deal was done and we were the proud owners of a Kestrel. The next battle was to get the aircraft from the US back into the United Kingdom but this is another story for another time!
So what’s been going on with our Kestrel?
Aaron, Dave and Thomas have been putting in a lot of man hours repairing the forward cockpit section which sustained a lot of damage from her time in an American Paint Ball park in the US! The repairs are being done to a high standard using the correct materials.
We have also had a new camera housing spun for the front nose and Dave has been busy fettling this ready for installation. Repairs on the underlaying structure are now largely complete and soon the team will begin forming the side skins. Once these skins are complete we can begin refitting the internal cockpit fittings such as the rudder pedals, instrument panels, side console panels etc which have all largely been restored by Aaron in his man cave and are awaiting refit.
The team is doing a superb job and we look forward to seeing this project take shape ready to take pride of place in the museum’s future expansion.